A Feline Dilemma
by sympathia-serenade
Summary: The prompt was, "Japan turns into a cat, and Greece panics because he has no idea where he is. Japan-cat tries to tell Greece that it is indeed him and not a stray."


**Uploading old fics here.**

**Notes:**Written for giripan_xmas on LJ with xxpianosex as the recipient. The request was, "Japan turns into a cat, and Greece panics because he has no idea where he is. Japan-cat tries to tell Greece that it is indeed him and not a stray."

Human names are used, as the requester wanted. :)

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><p>The atmosphere was dark. Creatures of all sorts crawled from the walls as one spider rested on one of the many multi-colored bottles. A bubbling cauldron sat in the middle of the room, an odd marking on the ground in front of it. Strange mumblings resonated around the room. This could only be Arthur's sanctuary, his hidden corner where he worked on his multitude of spells and potions.<p>

Liquids were poured. One blue, one purple, and one a vibrant light green (Arthur mused over its resemblance to his Flying Mint Bunny friend). This potion was to be magnificent. It would blow his last attempt out of the water. This…this potion would show that blasted git…

**"HEY, ARTHUR. WHATCHA DOIN'?"**

Mixtures went flying into the cauldron as he jumped from the sudden touch on his shoulder. Arthur swept around, but Alfred was already peering in the pot. Alarms went off in his head.

"**Get out.**"

Alfred just cocked his head. "Is this how you make your scones?" The concoction in the pot was swirling, creating a rainbow effect. A hand went to the side of the cauldron.

If there was one thing that irritated Arthur (well, okay, one of the _main_ things that irritated Arthur; most of his annoyances concerned a certain Frenchman or American), it was people in his _special_room. Seeing Alfred's hand on the cauldron was making him even more agitated. He wasn't positive what had gone sailing into the potion. Who knew what its effect would be?

"Did you not hear me the first time? Get the bloody hell out."

Alfred just grinned and leaned on the cauldron. "Man, stop being so uptight! You're showing your age. Nothing's gonna happeeeeeeen.~"

The cauldron tipped over, sending the potion on to the pentagram he'd drawn on the floor. It immediately disappeared. Alfred just stared.

"Woops."

He awoke to darkness and the feeling of being smothered under heavy fabric. Strange, he didn't remember pulling his blanket up that high. It had actually been a rather mild spring evening. He barely had the need to use a blanket in the first place.

Struggling, he immediately realized something was off. His blanket was not _that_big, nor was it a struggle just to get it off. He felt like he was tangled in a web of fabric. He began to worry. Had someone broken in at night and tried to smother him in his sleep? There was no way! He wasn't that heavy of a sleeper. He would have noticed someone entering his house.

More struggling. After nearly ten minutes of fighting, he finally reached the end of whatever was covering him. Light. Fresh air. Finally. His relief, however, was very short lived.

Standing up, his eyes widened. Everything was _huge_. The top of the ceiling looked so far away. The table next to the window where the sun was shining in looked like a tower. He let out a yelp.

"Nya!"

He froze. What…? That sound _had not_just come from him. Gulping, he decided to try to speak again. This day was just getting stranger and stranger.

"Nyao?"

He felt light headed as he looked down. Paws. Two white paws stared right back at him. He wasn't standing on two legs, he was standing on _four_. He was _meowing_. The room hadn't gotten larger, he'd gotten _smaller_. He was a cat. This was a dream. It had to be. With that, the nation of Japan fainted to the ground.

A few hours later, keys jangled against the front door. A click later and a man with slightly tanned skin entered, several cats rubbing against his legs. Having been close friends with Kiku for so many years, he'd been given a spare key. There had been several occasions where his friend had been so involved in his dating simulators that he failed to hear the Greek nation's knocking. After finding a sleeping Heracles outside his door multiple times (which resulted in a multitude of apologies from Kiku), Heracles had been given a key with the explanation of, "I'd rather you come in on your own than fall asleep outside and scare the neighbors. They thought you were homeless…"

Heracles lazily glanced around Kiku's house, not hearing a sound. He walked to the back of the house, where Kiku usually sat when he was relaxing. Strange. He was positive he'd come over at the time when the other man had his afternoon tea.

The Greek searched the house, not finding his friend anywhere. Perhaps he'd left to run errands? He dialed Kiku's cell phone, only to hear the tune of some music from Pokemon coming from the man's bedroom. Heracles blinked. Had Kiku left his cell phone at home? That wasn't like him at all.

Knocking on the door, he waited for a response. Nothing. Taking that as his invitation to enter, he slid the door open. He saw Kiku's futon in the middle of the room, empty. The blanket wasn't pressed and neat, like Kiku always left it. Worry began to fill his heart. This was so unlike Kiku. He would never leave something untidy nor would he leave his cell phone at home. What was going on?

The loud meowing of one of his cats brought his attention to a spot near the window. The cat was licking at a tiny ball of fur on the ground. Picking it up, he discovered it to be a small, sleeping black cat. The cat had white around his muzzle and chest with white paws. It was adorable. Heracles scratched the cat behind his ears, stopping as the cat began to rouse.

Kiku's vision was blurry and his head pounded as he woke up. He'd had the strangest dream… What had he been dreaming about? Oh, right, he dreamt he'd turned into a cat. How crazy? The next thought that came to him was the question of who was holding him. Wait…_holding him?_

"N-N-Nyaaaa!"

The sound that escaped his mouth snapped him awake. He looked up to see Heracles. He was in Heracles' arms. He was a cat. …He was in Heracles' arms. Panic overcame him from the close contact and he began to squirm in the Greek's arms. He jumped out of Heracles's arms, landing solidly on the ground.

_"This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening."_His mantra continued, but all that came from his mouth was a mixture of feline sounds. He began pacing. He was in a complete panic mode.

Heracles titled his head. The cat seemed to be pacing and meowing loudly? His own feline stalkers all looked at the new feline in confusion. Bending down, he reached out to pet the cat's head. "Shhhh, it's okay, kitty. Are you Kiku's new pet?"

Kiku froze at the hand on his head, peering up at the Greek. Aaaaaah, how would he explain this? He couldn't even speak properly… Heracles wouldn't be able to understand him. He no longer had opposable thumbs, so he couldn't pick up a pencil and write, but maybe….aaaaaaaaaaaah, that felt nice. He couldn't stop himself from raising his head so the Greek could continue scratching behind his ear. The scratching continued. His eyes closed. He couldn't stop the purr that began to erupt from his chest.

Heracles smiled, continuing the scratching. It was nice to see the cat calm down. A few seconds later, the cat's brown eyes snapped open and he backed away, wide-eyed. The cat began hyperventilating.

_"N-No! I need to figure out how to inform Heracles-san of my current…state, not sit here purring like a house cat from a simple scratch behind the ears."_The Japanese nation told himself.

A familiar white ball of fur approached him. Pochi-kun. Well…being slightly shorter than his pet dog like this was only a tad strange. The moment got stranger, however. _"Who are you and why are you in Japan-san's house?"_

"NYAAAAAA!" N-Now Pochi-kun was SPEAKING to him. Speaking…like a person. _"I…I…how are you talking?"_

The dog blinked. _"Have you had a bit too much catnip? Of course I'm speaking."_

_"…O…kay. So, apparently animals can speak to each other."_

The dog sighed, apparently ignoring what Kiku said. _"Japan-san normally would have taken me on a walk by now. It's not like him to leave without walking me or at least fixing his futon. I noticed Greece, so I came in here to see if he knew what was going on. Instead, I find an odd cat."_

Kiku stared. _"W-Well, actually…you see…I AM Japan. I woke up this morning as a cat…"_

Heracles blinked as he watched the cat and dog communicate. Suddenly, Pochi rolled over, tail wagging, letting out little barks.

_"You're…amusing. I didn't realize Japan kept such potent catnip. I'll have to inform Greece-san's cats of this fact."_

The Japanese man…err, cat bristled. _"It's true!"_This was beginning to get frustrating. He had plenty of patience, but he wasn't going to let his own dog accuse him of being a….a cat drug addict!

_"Okay… Prove it."_

Kiku sighed. He could feel a headache coming on. _"You're Pochi-kun. I've had you for many years."_ He paused. …Perhaps the pets of nations also don't outwardly age? He'd lost track of how many years he'd had Pochi-kun. _"A-Anyway, I walk you every morning before noon and every evening before sundown. You like visiting with Yamaguchi-san's Akita on your morning walks. Your enjoy fish treats. You like being rubbed right above your tail, but your favorite place to be scratched is under your left arm. I try not to scratch you there too often because it tends to create a drooling problem. I have…confided things to you."_

Pochi seemed to…blush? _"…Is it really you?"_

_"Yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"_

_"…How are you a cat?"_

He felt a headache coming on. _"I explained to you. I woke up this way. I don't know what happened. I need to explain this to Heracles-san so he might be able to find out what happened."_

_"Mmmm, so, how? Obviously, Greece-san can't understand a word we're saying right now."_

_"I know that! I wish there was some way to communicate with him.."_

Pochi smirked. _"Maybe you should focus on ways that might change you back first? Think about it. Maybe…a love confession? I mean, you have mentioned a few times…."_

_**"A…A WHAT? WE…HAVE NO SUCH RELATIONSHIP!"**_ **"NYAAAA NYAAA? NYAOOOOO!**Suddenly, hands grabbed him from around his middle and lifted him up.

"Stop tormenting him, Pochi. Hm….it is a him, isn't it?" Heracles muttered. He flipped Kiku over in his arms, cradling him with his stomach up. Grabbing his tail, he pulled it up so he could view the cat's…_vital regions_. The cat stiffened in his arms. "A boy."

Kiku didn't think this day could get more embarrassing. He could hear Pochi chuckling from the ground. Heracles had just….he….

Heracles wandered to the back porch of Kiku's house. Sitting outside, he held the former man close. "Kitty, do you know where Kiku is? He's normally home at this time… He left his phone at home. That's not like him."

The cat glanced at Heracles' face. He saw something in Heracles' eyes that he didn't think he'd witnessed before. Was that…worry? The gentle breeze tussled the Greek's already unruly hair, his jade eyes staring forward before going half-lidded. He yawned, petting Kiku. Snores followed a minute later. It may have been the spring weather, the nice breeze, or just the stress of the day, but moments later, Kiku found himself joining the Greek in his nap.

He awoke to Greece's voice. Judging by the way the sun barely hovered over the horizon in the western sky, it must have been getting late. Sundown already? How long had he slept?

"…Okay. I'll call him next. …Thank you, Ludwig."

Oh, he was on the phone. Heracles ended his call with Ludwig, then looked at his list of phone numbers, slowly pressing numbers on the phone. He'd never found the need to enter all of the nation's numbers into a contacts list on a cell phone.

_"He's been calling everyone."_ Pochi said from next to him. _"He's worried about you. He's left several times to search as well."_

Guilt rose in Kiku's chest. He was right here… If only there was some way for Heracles to know. Along with the guilt, he felt a bit…was it happiness? Heracles was worried for him. He cared so much to call so many people? He blushed at the thought.

"Alfred? …Oh, it's 4 AM there? I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask if you'd heard from Kiku…" A sigh. "You haven't?" Pause. "…He hasn't been home all day. He left his phone and things seem…off." He licked his lips. Kiku knew that was a sign of him being nervous. "Thank you, Alfred."

Heracles put the phone down and moved to sit next to Kiku and Pochi. "No one has seen or heard from him…" He rested his chin on one of his hands. "Kiku…I hope you're alright. Have I been too forward? It's natural in my culture to be affectionate…especially with people we like. I know it's not the same with you…"

His blush got even deeper. _"People you like…?"_

Pochi snorted. _"Of course he likes you. He should have taken responsibility for THAT episode long ago. If China-san thought it disturbed his sleep…"_

_"N-NOTHING HAPPENED. IT WAS JUST A DREAM."_

_"…More like a nightmare for me. Please, when you guys get together, can you take your affection to Greece-san's house? His cats are heavier sleepers than me."_

Heracles didn't seem to notice the little barks and meows. "I like being around him. I don't want to scare him..."

_"You haven't scared me… Well, maybe a little, but I…enjoy your company as well."_"Nyaaaa, nyao."

Heracles stroked his fur. "Is that what you think? If cats could talk… I wonder what cats think of?"

_"You have no idea how much I wish cats could speak at this exact moment."_"Nyao, nyao, nyaaaaaaaya."

Heracles stood up, putting Kiku on the ground. Pochi just sat there, tail wagging. "I think I will go wait for Kiku in his guest room. I'm sure that everything is alright…"

Kiku followed the Greek nation to the guest room. Heracles laid down on a futon, lying on his side. It seemed as though he could never sleep enough. Kiku himself felt drowsy, despite having just taken a nap. Kiku normally had a stricter schedule, waking at a certain time and sleeping at a certain time. He didn't laze around. Perhaps it was his current _condition_that caused these sleepy feelings. Cats did spend a majority of their day sleeping, after all.

Heracles pulled the small black cat close to him, holding him in a hug. Kiku blushed for the millionth time. Being a cat for the last day had put him in many..._uncomfortable_situations. He wasn't used to such close contact. He noticed, however, that being held by Heracles didn't seem to feel as mortifying as he would have thought. All of the hugs he'd received from Italy and America sent a rush of fear through him. While he felt nervous in the Greek's embrace, it was not the same kind of nervous feelings he felt with his other more affectionate friends. Butterflies flew in the pit of his stomach.

The Greek let out a deep breath. "When I wake up, I hope Kiku has returned." Shutting his eyes, he began to drift off to sleep, Kiku following shortly after. The last words Kiku heard before falling into another catnap was, "Kiku…I love you."

On the edge of sleep, he meowed, _"…I love you too, Heracles-san."_

The next morning, Heracles would wake up, the little black feline nowhere to be found. Instead, he would wake up next to a naked Japanese man. Screams would echo through the house.

"T-TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!"

Pochi would just watch, an amused look on his face, wondering what had changed his owner back. Oh well. He just hoped that whatever magic had caused the whole situation was capable of creating earplugs for canines. Heracles wasn't number one in sex frequency for nothing, after all.

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> This was rather rushed. Finished 60% of the fic, then broke a finger, so the rest was slooooow at getting typed. ;_; I hope it turned out okay! I thought the prompt was super cute.


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